1UNIT1In1812,NapoleonBonaparte,EmperoroftheFrench,ledhisGrandArmyintoRussia.HewaspreparedforthefierceresistanceoftheRussianpeopledefendingtheirhomeland.HewaspreparedforthelongmarchacrossRussiansoiltoMoscow,thecapitalcity.ButhewasnotpreparedforthedevastatingenemythatmethiminMoscow--theraw,bitter,bleakRussianwinter.In1941,AdolfHitler,leaderofNaziGermany,launchedanattackagainsttheSovietUnion,asRussiathenwascalled.Hitler'smilitarymightwasunequaled.HiswarmachinehadmoweddownresistanceinmostofEurope.Hitlerexpectedashortcampaignbut,likeNapoleonbeforehim,wastaughtapainfullesson.TheRussianwinteragaincametotheaidoftheSovietsoldiers.1812年，法国皇帝拿破仑·波拿巴率大军入侵俄罗斯。他准备好俄罗斯人民会为保卫祖国而奋勇抵抗。他准备好在俄罗斯广袤的国土上要经过长途跋涉才能进军首都莫斯科。但他没有料到在莫斯科他会遭遇劲敌—俄罗斯阴冷凄苦的寒冬。1941年，纳粹德国元首阿道夫·希特勒进攻当时被称作苏联的俄罗斯。希特勒的军事实力堪称无敌。他的战争机器扫除了欧洲绝大部分地区的抵抗。希特勒希望速战速决，但是，就像在他之前的拿破仑一样，他得到的是痛苦的教训。仍是俄罗斯的冬天助了苏维埃士兵一臂之力。Unit2Twoofthemostfrustratingthingsaboutdrivingacararegettinglostandgettingstuckintraffic.Whilethecomputerrevolutionisunlikelytocuretheseproblems,itwillhaveapositiveimpact.Sensorsinyourcartunedtoradiosignalsfromorbitingsatellitescanlocateyourcarpreciselyatanymomentandwarnoftrafficjams.Wealreadyhavetwenty-fourNavstarsatellitesorbitingtheearth,makingupwhatiscalledtheGlobalPositioningSystem.Theymakeitpossibletodetermineyourlocationontheearthtowithinaboutahundredfeet.Atanygiventime,thereareseveralGPSsatellitesorbitingoverheadatadistanceofabout11,000miles.Eachsatellitecontainsfour"atomicclocks,"whichvibrateataprecisefrequency,accordingtothelawsofthequantumtheory.Asasatellitepassesoverhead,itsendsoutaradiosignalthatcanbedetectedbyareceiverinacar'scomputer.Thecar'scomputercanthencalculatehowfarthesatelliteisbymeasuringhowlongittookforthesignaltoarrive.Sincethespeedoflightiswellknown,anydelayinreceivingthesatellite'ssignalcanbeconvertedintoadistance.开车最头疼的两大麻烦是迷路和交通堵塞。虽然计算机革命不可能彻底解决这两个问题，但却会带来积极的影响。你汽车上与绕轨道运行的卫星发出的无线电信号调谐的传感器能随时精确地确定你汽车的方位，并告知交通阻塞情况。我们已经有24颗环绕地球运行的导航卫星，组成了人们所说的全球卫星定位系统。通过这些卫星我们有可能以小于100英尺的误差确定你在地球上的方位。在任何一个特定时间，总有若干颗全球定位系统的卫星在11000英里的高空绕地球运行。每颗卫星都装有4个“原子钟”，它们根据量子理论法则，以精确的频率振动。卫星从高空经过时发出能被汽车上计算机里的接收器辨认的无线电信号。汽车上的计算机就会根据信号传来所花的时间计算出卫星有多远。由于光速为人熟知接收卫星信号时的任何时间迟缓都能折算出距离的远近。2Unit3HadhecheckedwithhisuniversitytoseeiftherewereanygraduatesworkingatMackaywhomhecouldinterview?Hadheaskedanyfriendstogrillhiminamockinterview?Didhegotothelibrarytofindnewspaperclippingsonus?Didhewritealetterbeforehandtotellusabouthimself,whathewasdoingtopreparefortheinterviewandwhyhe'dberightforthejob?Washeplanningtofollowuptheinterviewwithanotherletterindicatinghiseagernesstojoinus?Wouldtheletterbeinourhandswithin24hoursofthemeeting,possiblyevenhand-delivered?Theanswertoeveryquestionwasthesame:no.Thatleftmewithonlyoneotherquestion:Howwellpreparedwouldthispersonbeifheweretocallonaprospectivecustomerforus?Ialre...
